Never Too Late
by Katriona
Summary: L/C. Set ten years in the future. Something terrible happens that makes Christopher re-examine his life and finally choose between the mother of his baby and the woman he loves. *please r&r*
1. Default Chapter

Never Too Late  
  
Summary: L/C. Set ten years in the future. Something terrible happens that makes Christopher re-examine his life and finally choose between the mother of his baby and the woman he loves.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone you recognize. Cassy and anyone else you don't recognise are mine.  
  
A/N: The title sucks, so that's subject to change. A few other notes about the fic -- Christopher and Sherry are still married, and Gigi is ten. Lorelai is still single, owns the inn with Sookie, and has a nine-year-old daughter named Cassandra Lorelai Gilmore, whose father is out of the picture. Sookie is still married to Jackson, and they have four kids, ten-year-old Jake, nine-year-old Kyle, eight-year-old Sarah, and seven-year-old Jalie. Rory has graduated from Yale and lives in an apartment with Laine and Paris on the outskirts of Stars Hollow, where she's a high school English teacher. After a failed engagement to Jess, she's now single and happy. She sees Gigi and her father regularly, but is with her mother and Cassy every day. Also, she kept the Friday-night family dinner with her grandparents a tradition even after she paid back thei loan, and got Lorelai and Cassy into it as well.  
  
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Lorelai rushed around her room, looking for her other shoe. There was an important dinner tonight at the inn for one of it's wealthiest guests, and she absolutely had to be there. Being there on time was another story. In addition to the shoe, she only had on one earring, Rory wasn't there yet, and in short, Lorelai was running late.  
  
"Mommy, I found it!" called Cassy. The little girl ran in, holding her mother's other earring triumphantly. "It was on the coffee table, in the living room."  
  
"Thanks, babe," Lorelai said, taking the earring. As she was putting it in, she heard the front door open and close.  
  
"Mom, Cassy!" Rory yelled.  
  
"Upstairs!" Lorelai hollered back.  
  
Rory appeared in the doorway behind Cassy, and scooped up her little sister. Cassy giggled as Rory twirled her around, then set her down next to their mother. "Hi, mom," Rory greeted.  
  
"Hey, sweetie," Lorelai returned, looking around.  
  
Rory took one look at her mother's mismatched feet, lay down on the bed, reached under, and pulled out the missing shoe.  
  
"You found it!" Lorelai squealed. She gave her older daughter a kiss while slipping the shoe on. "You are amazing."  
  
"I lived with you for eighteen years," Rory countered. "I know where you throw your shoes. I also know how long it takes you to find them. You, my friend, are officially late."  
  
Lorelai glanced at her alarm clock, and cursed under her breath. She hurried downstairs, with Rory and Cassy close behind.  
  
"Now you be good," she said, kissing both of her daughters good-bye. "You know where to reach me. I shouldn't be home too late. Love you both."  
  
"Love you too, Mom," the girls chorused. Lorelai left, and Rory took Cassy into the living room to watch TV.  
  
"What movie did you rent?" Rory asked.  
  
"Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory," Cassy replied. "Mom wanted something involving candy."  
  
Rory smiled. "Mom usually does." She started the movie for Cassy, and then went into the kitchen to make popcorn. When she went back into the living room, Cassy was already absorbed in the movie. Rory sat down next to her on the floor, and put the bowl of popcorn on the table behind them. Cassy curled up against Rory, and the sisters continued to watch the movie together.  
  
Toward the end of the movie, Cassy fell asleep, so Rory carried her into her bedroom, Rory's old room. After tucking her in and kissing her good-night, she slipped back out into the hallway. She went into the living room to see the end of the movie when the phone rang.  
  
"Hello?" she answered, keeping her voice low so as not to wake Cassy.  
  
"Rory, it's me," came Sookie's voice. "Is your mom there?"  
  
"No," Rory said slowly. "Isn't she there?"  
  
Sookie sighed on the other end. "No, honey, she never showed up. I thought she was just late or something, I mean, that's Lorelai, but she was supposed to be here over an hour ago. I'm really worried."  
  
Rory swallowed hard, trying to fight down a rising panic. "Oh, well, I'll call around, and let you know if she turns up."  
  
"Thanks, sweetie," Sookie said.  
  
Rory hung up the phone, hands shaking. She looked out the window, half expecting to see her mother's car in the driveway, but she couldn't see anything. It was late, and pitch-black outside.  
  
Forcing herself to calm down, she went back to the phone and dialed Lorelai's cell. There was no answer, so she left a message on the voicemail and hung up. Ten minutes passed, and Lorelai didn't call back, so Rory called her again. Still no answer. After five or six more tries, Lorelai still wasn't picking up. Now Rory was really getting scared. In all her twenty-eight years, this was the first time that she had no idea where her mother was or how to reach her.  
  
For lack of anything better to do, she paced around the living room, trying to organize her thoughts. Lorelai was missing. She wasn't where she'd said she'd be, and she wouldn't or couldn't answer her phone. None of this was making Rory feel any better.  
  
Finally, about half an hour after Sookie's call, the phone rang. Rory dove for it. "Mom?" she asked hopefully.  
  
The voice on the other end was not Lorelai's. "Is this Rory Gilmore?"  
  
"Y-yes," Rory stammered.  
  
"Ms. Gilmore, this is Dr. Mark Andrews, from Hartford Regional Hospital. Your mother has been in an accident..." 


	2. Chapter Two

A/N: Just to answer someone's question - Yes, Cassy is a necessary part of the plot. You'll see why at the end. This is actually an idea I had a long time ago, but could never seem to approach it the right way until now.  
  
A/N2: I forgot to put this at the beginning of the first chapter, but this fic is AU.  
  
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *  
  
Rory barely heard anything after that last statement. She dropped the phone, and stood in shock for a moment. Then, she went into Cassy's room.  
  
"Cass, wake up," she said gently.  
  
Cassy rubbed her eyes, squinting up at her big sister. "Rory, what's wrong?"  
  
"Get dressed," Rory commanded.  
  
Cassy yawned, and sat up, pulling the covers off. "I am dressed," she pointed out. "I fell asleep during Willy Wonka, remember?"  
  
Rory nodded numbly. Now she remembered that she hadn't changed Cassy into her pajamas before putting her to bed. "Put your shoes on, then."  
  
Cassy did as she was told, while Rory got the little girl's jacket out of the hall closet. Cassy came out of her bedroom clutching her favourite stuffed bear, which Rory had made for her when she was a baby. Wordlessly, she put on her jacket and followed her sister out to the car.  
  
The drive to the hospital was short and quiet. Rory did her best to hide her worry from her baby sister, but Cassy saw how tightly Rory's ghost-white hands were gripping the steering wheel, and held her bear tighter. She didn't say anything for fear of the answer Rory would give, but when they pulled into the hospital parking lot she couldn't help but ask, in a small, quavering voice, "Why are we here?"  
  
Rory leaned over and gave her sister a kiss to reassure her before answering. "Cassy, Mom was in an accident. She's alive, but it's pretty bad."  
  
Cassy stayed quiet, absorbing this. Rory unbuckled and got out of the car, and after a second, Cassy did the same. Rory put an arm around her and led her into the hospital.  
  
Rory made a beeline for the nurses' station. "Can you tell me where Lorelai Gilmore is?" she asked the woman behind the desk.  
  
The nurse typed the name into the computer, and then looked back at Rory. "She's still in surgery, but she should be out soon. She's been in the OR for over an hour. You can wait outside."  
  
Rory thanked the nurse, and led Cassy over to a chair by the pay phone. The younger Gilmore curled up in it while Rory phoned her grandparents.  
  
"Hello?" answered Emily.  
  
"Grandma, it's Rory."  
  
"Rory, what's wrong? You sound awful."  
  
"It's Mom," she replied. She explained about the dinner that Lorelai never showed up for, and not being able to find her, and getting the call about the accident.  
  
"Where are you now? And where's Cassy?" Emily asked.  
  
"We're at the hospital. She's right here next to me."  
  
"I'll be right there," Emily promised.  
  
Rory hung up, and dug around her purse for extra change. Next, she called Sookie and told her what had happened. Finally, she called her father.  
  
By now Rory was crying. She managed to hide it from her little sister, keeping her back to Cassy and wiping the tears away with the back of her hand, but it was still obvious in her voice. "Dad, it's Rory," she said when Christopher picked up.  
  
Christopher, who'd been slouching in his desk chair, bolted upright. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"  
  
Rory swallowed, trying to make herself stop crying. "I'm fine. It's Mom. She's in the hospital, and it's really bad, and Daddy, I need you."  
  
"I'm coming. Which hospital?"  
  
Rory gave him directions, and they hung up. She reached into her purse for a tissue, and dried her face before turning back to her sister. "Hey, let's go get a soda," she suggested.  
  
Cassy nodded, and followed Rory down the hall to the vending machines. Rory bought a Sprite for her sister, and a coffee for herself. Then, noticing how tired Cassy was, she picked her up and carried her back to the nurses' station.  
  
"Excuse me, is Lorelai Gilmore out of surgery yet?" she asked the nurse.  
  
A young doctor who had been standing a few feet away looked up suddenly. "Are you Rory Gilmore, by any chance?"  
  
Rory nodded, balancing Cassy on her hip. "Yes, that's me. Do you know how my mom is doing?"  
  
The doctor took a step toward her. "I'm Dr. Andrews, we spoke on the phone. I'm your mother's doctor."  
  
"Where is she?" Rory asked anxiously.  
  
"In a room down the hall," Dr. Andrews replied. "She's in critical condition. There's a bit of internal bleeding, but as far as we can tell, none of it is near the brain. She did hit her head pretty hard, though. Also, there were a few broken ribs. She was lucky. From what I could tell of the accident, it could have been her neck."  
  
Rory shifted Cassy's weight, processing this. Before she had time to respond, she heard Emily's voice from across the nurses' station.  
  
"Rory, there you are," Emily said, leading Richard over to their granddaughters. "What's going on?"  
  
Rory finally found her voice. "Grandma, Grandpa, this is Dr. Andrews, Mom's doctor."  
  
The doctor shook hands with Richard and Emily, and repeated what he'd told Rory.  
  
"Is she going to be all right?" Richard asked.  
  
Dr. Andrews hesitated before answering, "Probably. Right now, we need someone to fill out paperwork regarding her insurance and such."  
  
"I'll do it," Richard offered.  
  
"When can I see my daughter?" Emily cut in.  
  
"I guess you can see her now, but someone should stay out here," the doctor said. "The police were waiting until we were able to contact a relative, and they want to talk to one of you about the accident."  
  
Rory quickly volunteered. "I'll talk to them."  
  
"Are you sure?" asked Emily.  
  
Rory nodded. She wanted to know what had happened, and besides, she wasn't sure she was ready to see Lorelai just yet. Richard and Emily kissed both of their granddaughters, and then followed the doctor down the hall. Rory, still holding a half-asleep Cassy, sunk down into a chair to wait for the police. 


	3. Author's Note

Author's Note:  
  
Thanks to everyone who's reviewed the first two chapters. I've got a pretty good idea of where I'm going with this, but I need a beta reader to help me decide between one of two ways to take the fic. If you'd like to help, e-mail me at xscarletstarlet@aol.com and let me know. It would only take a minute, and I'd be muchly grateful.  
  
Thanks,  
  
Caia 


End file.
